Ahmadinejad loses ground with Revolutionary Guards

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came under more fire today from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Supreme Leader’s representative at the Corps.

IRGC head Mohammad Ali Jafari today told a meeting of Basij university organizers: “The presence of certain political views and opinions among the people surrounding the presidency is becoming worrisome for those who care for the Revolution.”

Jafari added that one of the chief “blights of the Revolution” are those people who were once on the path of the Revolution and have now turned against it.

Meanwhile, Ayatollah Khamenei’s representative at IRGC, Ali Saidi, said today that the government has been afflicted with a “major disaster being infiltrated by corrupt elements.”

In an interview with Mehr News Agency, Saidi warned Ahmadinejad and his supporters in president’s office that they can count on the support of “the nation of Hezbollah and the clergy” on the condition that they remain committed to the supreme leadership.”

He rebuked Ahmadinejad for failing to immediately act on Ayatollah Khamenei’s stated wishes. He seems to be referring to Ahmadinejad’s refusal to sever relations with Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, even after repeated implicit indications from Ayatollah Khamenei.

Ahmadinejad was forced to remove Mashai as his vice-president but then went on to appoint him his chief of staff.

Saidi went on to criticize the apparent “aristocratic current” and "elements of sorcery" attributed to Ahmadinejad’s circle of intimates. He said: “These people in the government have been engaging in sinful acts and those who are involved in such activities are completely corrupt.”

Ahmadinejad has been losing more and more ground in the Islamic Republic’s political landscape ever since his showdown with Ayatollah Khamenei over the president’s Minister of Intelligence, Heydar Moslehi.

After Ahmadinejad accepted Moslehi’s letter of resignation, Ayatollah Khamenei reinstated him as minister. Ahmadinejad showed his disgruntlement by avoiding cabinet meeting for over a week but he finally had too acquiesce to the Supreme Leader’s decision.

From that point onward, Ahmadinejad and his chief of staff have been repeatedly attacked by the conservative elite and accused of trying to create a “deviant current” in the Islamic Republic establishment.